1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a liquid container for a motor vehicle.
2. Background Art
Accelerations in a motor vehicle cause fuel in the fuel tank to move. In particular, during a negative acceleration, e.g., braking, fuel sloshes against the front wall, producing sloshing sounds.
Substantially horizontal waves (in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle) are produced during braking, with a static pressure prevailing in the interior of the container between the surface of the liquid and the upper wall. This gives rise to a growing wave due to the inertia of the liquid. Depending on the magnitude of the acceleration and the height of the liquid in the container, the wave crest may contact the upper wall of the container thereby enclosing a volume of air between the wave and the front wall. As the wave moves further in the direction toward the front wall, the air in the enclosed volume is compressed with a reduced pressure forming in an enclosed volume between wave crest and the rear wall. The sloshing noise results from the formation of a sloshing wave which divides the container into two separated volumes with differing pressures. The noise can be generated when the When an opening is formed in the wave, air escaping from the lower pressure volume to the higher pressure volume causes the sloshing noise.
In an effort to save fuel, some vehicles are applying a stop-start strategy in which the internal combustion engine is automatically turned off when the vehicle is stationary. Since the vehicle may have recently been moving, the fuel could be sloshing in the fuel tank. In vehicles in which the engine remains operational during periods in which the vehicle is stationary, the sloshing is often not noticed over the engine noise. However, in a stationary vehicle, such noise may be heard and considered objectionable by the vehicle operator.